2018 Anarchist’s Gift Guide, Day 11: Benchcrafted Hi Vise
It’s no secret that I love Benchcrafted products. I recommend their bench vises without any reservations and have them installed on almost all of our workbenches in our workshop. When [...]
2018 Anarchist’s Gift Guide, Day 10: Benchmade Knife
When I emerged from my mother’s womb I had a small knife clipped to my baby fat at my waist. I immediately used the knife to cut the umbilical cord. Then I folded the knife (for safety) and [...]
2018 Anarchist’s Gift Guide, Day 9: Granite Floor Tiles
Big fat granite surface plates are nice, but they are overkill for most woodworking shops. The granite surface plates are intended for machinists and other metalworkers who work to thousandths or [...]
2018 Anarchist’s Gift Guide, Day 8: Buck Bros. Chisels
Recommending chisels for beginners is difficult. Excellent chisels cost money – or a lot of time searching for nice vintage examples and setting them up. Most beginners just want to buy a tool [...]
2018 Anarchist’s Gift Guide, Day 7: Non-scratch Pliers
If you build chairs, staked furniture or anything that uses round tenons, this entry is for you. One of the greatest joinery tricks I know of is to cut your tenons slightly oversized – .010” or a [...]
A Dovetailing Kit for Beginners
Last week I discussed the Zona Razor Saw and how it’s the ideal saw for beginning dovetailers. It’s just $12 to $15 and cuts extremely well. This saw got me thinking about what other inexpensive [...]
2018 Anarchist’s Gift Guide, Day 6: Stanley Anniversary Tape Measure
Oh, if only Stanley Toolworks was this awesome all the time. This year, the storied company released a tape measure for its 175th anniversary that is awesome. No, it’s not high-visibility yellow [...]
2018 Anarchist’s Gift Guide, Day 5: Carl Walter Needle Files
All woodwork involves a little metalwork. Whether you are installing locks that need filing or working with a handplane that needs fettling, you need a good set of needle files. I’ve had my [...]
2018 Anarchist’s Gift Guide, Day 4: Wait, am I an IKEA Shill?
If you make wooden chairs (I make a lot) you might be missing an important accessory: a sheepskin. During a recent trip to Wales to study the country’s chairs I noticed a sheepskin on one of the [...]
2018 Anarchist’s Gift Guide, Day 3: The Baggmuck Sharpening Tray
I use a boot tray to hold my sharpening gear. That way I can keep my stones in the tray underneath my bench and then place the tray on the benchtop for sharpening. The low walls of the boot tray [...]
2018 Anarchist’s Gift Guide, Day 2: A Box of Pre-sharpened ‘Scrapers’
One tool that has been in my shop for decades is a little box of single-edge razors that I use as scrapers and – occasionally – as a save-your-butt tool when finishes go bad. Scrapers don’t have [...]
2018 Anarchist’s Gift Guide, Day 1: A ‘Super Woobie’ Kit
Welcome to the latest edition of the Anarchist’s Gift Guide, a yearly thing I do that recommends mostly small, inexpensive and useful shop items. These blog entries are great to email to family [...]
